Chapter Thirteen

Izzy

 

Something had happened. Rowes had beat him back to the room and ordered dinner for the both of them before he’d stripped down to almost nothing and sat on the bed. While aimlessly flipping through channels, he hadn’t said a word since.

“What did you order for yourself, Ro? Hopefully extra croutons.” Izzy’s grin faltered when Rowes didn’t smile, instead giving a simple nod. His bruises along his side stood out like dark paint against his pale skin. They would have been beautiful if they didn’t look so painful.

“Ro?” Izzy slumped next to him on the bed, automatically reaching for him but pausing only inches away when Rowes flinched.

“When the director talked to you about my contract, what did she say?” asked Rowes as he closed his eyes. He was trembling, goosebumps all over his naked skin. The only thing keeping his modesty was the thin pair of blue boxers.

“Not much,” said Izzy, tilting his head in confusion. “Why? What happened? Did something happen between you and Lorena? If that bitch—”

“We can’t have sex.” Rowes cut him off, hanging his head low as his shoulders shook. “Apparently, I was the only one stupid enough to sign that fucking contract, and now we can’t be together. Lorena said it was all the producers and director, but I can’t believe her anymore. I don’t know what to do, Izzy. I can’t live without you, but I’m nothing without my career. What am I supposed to do? Wash fucking cars or something? Give the ladies someone hot and wet to stare at as I do a little dance in a club?”

What the hell is going on? Rowes looked close to tears with his eyes red and wet. It tore a hole in his chest. Izzy was supposed to protect him, not let him carry on by himself as he’d obviously been doing.

“What are you talking about? What contract? The director— I don’t even remember what she said now, but something about how it wouldn’t be a problem.”

Letting out a heart-wrenching sob, Rowes turned into him, pushing his face into Izzy’s chest. His cheeks were wet as he trembled. He looped his hands around Izzy’s neck and pulled him in until his naked skin was against Izzy. It was the first time in the past few days that his mind didn’t stray. Nudity didn’t matter when Rowes was hurting.

“I signed a contract that said I couldn’t have sexual intercourse with any members of the cast or crew. Fuck, I didn’t ever think it would be an issue. It’s always been easy to find a woman if I wanted one, and I never thought there would be anything like this between us. You’re my best friend, but now we’re so much more and I can’t.” His sob cut him off as he broke down, curling into Izzy as he started to cry in earnest.

This is bad.

“Rowes, it’s okay. I said you’re mine, and I meant it,” said Izzy, placing a kiss on the top of Rowes’ head. “And I take care of what’s mine.” His heart was racing, his mind spinning. There was no way something like that was legal. Time constraints were one thing, but getting involved in someone’s sex life? No court would agree to sue Rowes for that. “Besides, you haven’t done anything wrong,” said Izzy, plunging his hand into Rowes’ hair. “You been perfect for me, even before we realized that we were meant to be more than just friends. You’re supportive, kind, beautiful and the best actor I know.”

Rowes smiled through his tears as he shook his head. “Connley is the best actor you know. Don’t lie.”

True. “That’s not the point.” Izzy moved his hands lower, skimming over Rowes’ bruises until he found the knot in his lower back. Some of the tenseness had returned, a busy day and the tears probably not helping. Rowes let out a shuddering breath, and Izzy felt a hint of strain leaving him.

He could figure this out. He wasn’t a lawyer, but he wasn’t an idiot. They’d both been in the business long enough to know that it wasn’t always clean.

“What exactly did it say?” asked Izzy. It was a good thing they had never shown him a contract like that, because he would have ripped it apart or set it on fire. Why didn’t you tell me, Rowes? Even before they’d grown closer, he would have destroyed that contract on Rowes’ behalf. No one deserved to be controlled like that and have their love and private life stripped of them.

Every contract had loopholes, no matter how airtight they seemed to be.

“Uh, I feel so stupid,” said Rowes, wrapping his arms around Izzy’s waist and squeezing tight. “I should have told you about it right away, but they said it was confidential, and I had a time limit to sign it. I didn’t want to jeopardize the show or your career over a little clause.”

“This may come as a surprise to you, Ro, but you are the star of a hit television show. They aren’t going to fire you without some serious consequences for the ratings.” Izzy took a deep breath, calming the rage that was curling under his skin. How long had Rowes been struggling with this on his own?

“I’m replaceable.”

Izzy clamped his arms down until Rowes squeaked, trying to wiggle out of his hold. Rage like none other curled through his limbs, whisking his sense far away.

“Never talk about yourself like that,” said Izzy, dropping his voice into a growl. He moved one hand to Rowes throat, squeezing just enough that it would start to hurt. “I love you, Rowes, but I can’t sit here while you think about yourself like that. I’m not above putting you over my knee and spanking some sense into you. There is one thing that the fans have right about us, and it’s that I’m nothing without you.”

Rowes swallowed, his throat bobbing beneath Izzy’s hand as his eyes went wide. Izzy tightened his grip, following the blush that spread over Rowes’ cheeks as it presumably got harder for him to breathe.

As soon as he released him, Rowes sucked in a breath, coughing a few times. Even as his eyes watered, he didn’t try to get away, clinging to Izzy with clenched fists.

“I’m sorry.”

The apology thrummed through him, settling something deep inside. Cupping Rowes’ cheeks, he placed a kiss on his forehead. “Forgiven. Now tell me about the contract.”

“I have it on my phone, Izzy. I thought I should probably have pictures of it in case something came up that I had questions about.”

Without leaving Rowes’ side, Izzy reached for the phone, unlocking it with Rowes’ password. He used the same code for everything, which made it easy to hack into any of his things to leave little surprises—like the time Izzy had changed his background to pink unicorns to make him smile. It had worked, and Rowes still hadn’t changed it, even though it was months later.

He opened up the camera app, finding the finely printed contract between so many pictures of himself. He skimmed over it, growling under his breath as he read on. It was pretty damn airtight.

Sexual intercourse was off the books entirely, from what he could understand. There was a list of usual things Rowes wasn’t allowed to do, like break confidentiality, leak images or scripts, but hidden among the normal was a section that hadn’t been in Izzy’s own contract.

His gut sank. He loved Rowes for who he was, no matter what, but they were both young and attractive. There should have been nothing to stop them from exploring each other, both as partners and lovers one day.

There was nothing like discovering a partner one inch at a time, tasting every bit and memorizing every part. The warmth of their skin, the way they tasted and the way they smelled would last in his memory long after the pleasure faded.

Some of the jargon was beyond him, which he’d expected. He wasn’t alone, though, and neither was Rowes.

“I’m going to take care of this, but I need you to trust me,” said Izzy, clicking the phone shut and returning both hands to Rowes’ skin. He didn’t pull away at the knock on the door that was probably their food arriving.

Rowes looked up at the sound, furrowing his forehead in confusion. “That better not be Lorena. I haven’t decided if I’m speaking to her again or not.”

“I’ll take care of Lorena,” said Izzy, the rage burning hot again as the knock sounded a second time on the door. There wasn’t a dumpster out there that wasn’t suitable for what was left of Lorena when he was done with her. “Answer the door and get our food. You can put the tray on the bed and sit on the floor.”

Looking down at himself, Rowes’ eyes went wide. “I’m practically naked.” He reached for a robe that he’d left on the corner of the bed that morning, but Izzy stopped him with a hand on his wrist.

“And I want to show you off a little. No excuses at the door, just grab your food and give them a tip. You’re beautiful. We’ve worn less on set in front of dozens of people. Remember the hot tub scene?”

That had been one of the most delicious moments of his life, now that he thought about it. He and Rowes had been in the hot tub in Speedos before they’d been ambushed by a rival gang. They’d fought them off nearly naked and dripping before Rowes had grabbed his gun and had taken care of the rest.

“Okay.” Rowes sucked his lower lip into his mouth as he stood shyly. His gaze was on the floor, his cheeks flushed as he opened the door a crack and accepted the tray with as little eye contact as possible.

“Don’t forget the tip,” said Izzy, chuckling as Rowes reached for his ass cheek where his wallet would have been resting if he hadn’t chucked his pants on the ground.

“Here.” Izzy pulled a twenty from his own wallet, holding it out for Rowes. The door had swung wider as soon as he’d walked away, and the server looked like someone had just slapped her with a suitcase full of her favorite sex toys. Izzy waved at her. “Don’t mind him. He’s just tired from the workout we had today.”

Izzy spread his legs wider, skimming a hand over the rumpled sheets of his bed. The other bed was made and completely untouched. She could think whatever the hell she wanted. Contract or no contract, he was done pretending.